One day in my leadership class, there was talk of having a Chinese tea party, with authentic tea and snacks. The class was excited about it, but I was skeptical. To me, the idea of a Chinese tea party was intriguing, but I wasn’t quite clear how it related to leadership studies.
The next class, we had a discussion about some of our readings, culture and how leadership related to the Chinese tea party we would be having in class the same day. As part of our cultural discussion, we talked about the different rituals that are performed in different cultures. A ritual is a symbolic, routine act that connects the individual to the group, which is part of the main concept of this class: Self, Group and Leadership. The Chinese tea party connects the individual with the group. In leadership, it is important for “self” to be connected with the “group,” if the connection is weak or lacking, it makes it almost impossible to lead the group.
So our tea party was an innovative way of portraying the connection between the individual and the group. It shows how we, as leaders, have to stay connected with the people in order to properly lead and to stay together as a group.
